


A Break In The Routine

by afteriwake



Series: In So Few Words [59]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Cleaning, Domestic Fluff, Established Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper, F/M, Married Couple, Married Life, Married Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper, Messy, Molly Hooper Takes Care of Sherlock Holmes, Molly Takes A Trip, Reunions, Routine, Sherlock Holmes on a Case, Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper Fluff, Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper Kissing, Sherlock is a Mess, caring molly, sherlock returns the favour
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-28
Updated: 2017-08-28
Packaged: 2018-12-20 18:46:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11926989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: For years Molly has always taken care of Sherlock in certain ways while he worked cases. It's a well-worn routine that she doesn't mind because she knows she'll get taken care of in return. So what happens when Molly is away for a conference and Sherlock has a case?





	A Break In The Routine

**Author's Note:**

  * For [stbartsmolly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/stbartsmolly/gifts).



> So this is a very belated fic for Sherlolly Spring Fling, claimed by **stbartsmolly** , based on a prompt from **imagineyourotp** (" _Imagine Person A of your OTP is hard at work, rushing to meet a deadline, and hasn't been able to spend much time with Person B in the past few days. Person B really wants Person A to take a break and snuggle, but respect's Person A's need to work and interrupts only occasionally with a hot cup of tea and a kiss on the cheek. Person A smiles lovingly in gratitude each time, and it's understood that Person A is going to make it up to Person B entirely once done._.") I just felt it fit perfectly for Day 4 of Molly Hooper Appreciation Week (" _Just One Of The Blokes_ ") so I wrote it now. Hope you enjoy!

She was sure there was more she could do, possibly. It seemed as though simply feeding him and making sure he had coffee when needed and tea when needed and then making sure he didn’t pour milk into the coffee or sugar into the tea when he got distracted...it just wasn’t enough, was it?

But he assured her it was, time and again. Over and over. _“You take care of me, Molly. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”_ That’s what you did when you married the world’s only consulting detective, she supposed. You took care of him.

It was never a burden, no. She knew he always made it up to her when the case was solved, that he would pamper her and nearly wait on her hand and foot as soon as the perpetrator was caught and behind bars. When there was no _rush_ to make sure innocent people stayed alive and wrongdoing was stopped, it was all returned to her, every ounce of love and care she had shown him.

And it wasn’t that he didn’t ask for her professional insight or another look over things. He would do that, too, and _then_ she would feel as though she was doing something of importance. But he seemed most content to have her care for him.

She didn’t realize how much he needed it until three years into their marriage when she wasn’t there to do it.

She’d been asked to speak at a four-day conference in Scotland, and just before she left Greg gave him a case, one that wrapped him up so much he didn’t even realize she had already left for her flight. He only realized it when he asked for tea and Mrs. Hudson got it for him, the older woman had told her later.

And then it was just downhill from there.

By the time she got back to the flat it was in a shambles. She looked around wide-eyed at the sheer volume of the mess that occurred when Sherlock was left to his own devices. And, according to Greg, the case wasn’t solved yet, which made Sherlock grumpy, he’d said. She was sure it was just the break in routine, the fact she had left to do something for her job and left him alone.

They’d see who was right.

She came in, straightening up his papers in the way she knew he liked, skimming the contents to make sure anything of importance was near the top. Then she got all the rubbish gathered up and deposited in the bin. That was overflowing but it could keep for the night; the important thing was they wouldn’t be tripping over it. Then she went and neatly stacked up the books strewn around the floor. He might grumble a bit if it was in the wrong order but she wasn’t going to fall flat on her face the next morning when she went to make coffee because Grey’s Anatomy was sitting square in the middle of her path.

And then she put on the kettle and waited. Oh, she could have used the electric kettle, but it was her special habit to make a cup the old fashioned way when she got home from a trip.

When the whistle of the kettle sounded, Sherlock reached for his cup and held it out. “Tea,” he said.

“Black or herbal?” she asked, reaching for the cup.

Sherlock blinked and slowly turned to face her. In what seemed like one swift motion the cup was out of her reach on the table and he’d pulled her onto his lap, kissing her enthusiastically. “Don’t leave again,” he said when he pulled away from the kiss that had left her breathless.

“You can’t live without me?” she teased, winding her arms around his neck.

“No,” he said. “You know just the right way to take care of me.”

“Well, as your wife, I should. And you do the same for me,” she said, leaning forward to kiss the tip of his nose. “Now. Black or herbal?”

“Herbal,” he said. “My diet has not been the best.”

“Too little food or too much?” she asked.

“Too greasy.”

“Mint it is, then.” She made to get up but he leaned in and kissed her again. When he was done, she looked up at him, a small, confused smile on her face. “What was that for?”

“You know I’ll make this up to you, right?” he asked. “All of it.”

She nodded. “You always do, Mr. Holmes. And I look forward to it.” Her smile grew wider. “I’ll get tea and some shortbread from the tin and you can go over things with me if you have things to go over.”

“You know me so well, Mrs. Holmes,” he said as he let her go.

“If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have married you,” she said over her shoulder once she was up. Yes, this was a routine that never seemed to change, but it was one she loved nonetheless.


End file.
